The present invention relates to a lateral force-measuring device for a vehicle wheel, a lateral force-measuring method and a vehicle inspecting system having the lateral force-measuring device.
Generally, the roadway is paved so as to be moderately inclined toward both right and left end from a centerline CL as the apex of the roadway on the view point of drainage as shown in FIG. 4. Accordingly, if a vehicle is run on such road under the condition that a driver releases his or her hold of a steering wheel, a vehicle does not go straight in the running lane but gradually swerves to a left end or a right end. Consequently, wheels are set in common vehicle such that a wheel laterally presses to road when a wheel is rotating, in another word, friction occurs between wheel and road in a wide direction of vehicle. In case of example in FIG. 4, if a wheel presses road leftward when a wheel is rotating, a vehicle can be run straight.
When a vehicle runs straight, a force (hereinafter referred to as a lateral force) occurs in a wheel in wide direction of a vehicle. An occurrence factor mainly comes from a characteristic of wheels themselves (section configuration of a tread portion or a trade pattern, etc), a wheel alignment (camber angle and toe angle, etc), or a suspension geometry.
Therefore, these ones are adjusted so as to produce a proper lateral force in each wheel. Consequently, a vehicle can be run straight.
However, the setting value of the conventional lateral force is determined by computing an adjustment data such as characteristic of wheels themselves, a wheel alignment, and a suspension geometry in the simulation. Accordingly, it has been impossible to measure the magnitude of a lateral force that actually occurs in a wheel when a vehicle is running.
Therefore, it was the reality such that the degree of setting value of a lateral force is determined by repeating an adjustment of such as said wheel alignment and a test running of a vehicle.
The present invention is created to solve aforementioned problem. The primary purpose is to provide a lateral force-measuring device for wheel and a lateral force-measuring method such that a lateral force of wheels can be accurately measured while a running characteristic of vehicle for a lateral force can be simply grasped when a vehicle is designed or after a damaged vehicle caused by accident is repaired.
Furthermore, the importance of a vehicle inspection has been recently recognized as the method of anticipatively preventing the accidents caused by an insufficient overhaul of a vehicle.
Generally, since a vehicle is inspected in a garage, there has been a demand for requiring less floor space to install an inspection device. Accordingly, an integral-type vehicle inspecting device such as a speed meter tester and a brake tester is developed for use in a limited area on a garage (See Japanese Patent No. 2961403). Besides, a speed meter tester and a brake tester have been used separately in conventional device.
Furthermore, the second purpose is to provide a vehicle inspecting system having a lateral force measuring-system for a wheel embodied therein.
In the present invention, there is provided a lateral force measuring-device for a wheel comprising a rotator and a load-measuring device. A rotator is axially installed with universal function for moving in an axial direction and is dependently rotated by a rotation of a pressed wheel. And a load-measuring device is to measure a moving load for an axial direction of a rotator when a rotator is rotating.
In the present invention, there is provided a lateral force measuring-device for a wheel further wherein the rotator axially installed with universal function for moving in an axial direction is dependently rotated by a rotation of one of a pair of pressed wheels.
A lateral force measuring-device for a wheel of the invention preferably comprises a lateral force-measuring device having a dog relatively attached to said rotator with universal function for rotation, and a load sensor measuring a moving of the dog.
In the lateral force-measuring device for wheel, it is preferable to have a wheel-driving device to rotate said wheel.
Further, in the present invention, there is also provided a vehicle inspecting system capable of materializing a saving of floor space by incorporating a lateral force-measuring device for wheel therein, and of carrying out a consolidated vehicle inspection including a lateral force measurement for wheel.
In addition, the present invention provides a lateral force-measuring method for wheel such that a wheel is pressed to a rotator axially installed with universal function for moving in an axial direction, and a rotator is dependently rotated by a rotation of wheel to measure a moving load for an axial direction of a rotator.
The present invention further comprises such that one of a pair of wheels is independently pressed to a rotator axially installed with universal function for moving in an axial direction.